


Of Fairies and Summer Colds

by HildyJ



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Dwarves In Exile, Dwarves in the Shire, Flirting, M/M, Pre-Quest of Erebor, The Shire, Young Bilbo Baggins, Young Thorin Oakenshield, bagginshield summer surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 01:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11887284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HildyJ/pseuds/HildyJ
Summary: Bilbo has a bad cold, Thorin has a difficult decision to make, and they both go to the same place for some peace and quiet.





	Of Fairies and Summer Colds

Bilbo was sure that when he reached the lake he would breathe easier. He pushed his way through the bushes and crumpled beneath a shady tree, drinking in the cool breeze coming from the water and the silence coming from being far away from his cousins.

He loved his cousins, he did, but they took up a lot of space at the best of times and were down-right insufferable when Bilbo had a stuffy nose, a sore throat and an aching head. And all of this in a heavy, stifling heat.

Summer colds were the worst. 

He closed his eyes. Relaxed his shoulders and let his hands fall flat to the ground on either side, palms facing the sky. Birds were singing and he tried to enjoy their music. His mouth fell open in a deep breath as he adjusted his lower back to lie more comfortably. And then he sniffled. He sniffled again. Oh, bother.

Bilbo’s head fell to the side. Something tickled his cheek, either a blade of grass or a scrambling beetle, but he didn’t mind. Any sensation other than his achy and stuffed head was a welcome distraction.

And then he was distracted. A deep voice was speaking a foreign, guttural language nearby. He sounded irritated, this voice, and the words were half-muttered as if he was speaking to nobody but himself.

Bilbo sat half-way up, resting the weight of his upper body on his bent arms and listened for a bit but getting nothing out of it. He pulled his legs up to his body, making ready to push away from the ground. He ought to let the stranger know that he wasn’t alone.

‘Hello!’ Bilbo popped his head up from behind the bushes. ‘Lovely day for it!’

The dwarf, because it was a dwarf, even Bilbo who had lived all of his life within the borders of the Shire knew that, stopped short, his mouth half-open in surprise at seeing another so close by.

Bilbo went on with his pleasantries regardless. ‘But rather warm, isn’t it?’ He sniffled. ‘Are you looking to cool down as well?’ He gestured at the glittering lake next to them. ‘Escape the heat for a bit?’

The dwarf finally gathered himself and closed his mouth. He quirked a quick smile at Bilbo. ‘You could say that,’ he replied in accented Westron, ‘but mostly I just wanted to escape my travelling companions for a while.’

Bilbo stepped closer, studying this interesting diversion. Taller than a hobbit, of course, and broader too but there was something in the face – a softness. And then there were those blue eyes looking back at him, taking the whole measure of him. Bilbo smiled. ‘What is your name?’

He shifted where he stood, large boots making indents into the soft dirt. ‘I have heard stories like this,’ he said, ‘and all of them prescribe never giving your name to one of the fairy folk.’ He looked straight into Bilbo’s eyes. ‘Or they will always hold power over you.’

‘Fairy folk?’ Bilbo’s polite smile burst into a grin. ‘You think I’m one of the fairies?’

‘Well, how else would you explain someone springing up out of the ground, the sun shining from the ends of his hair and with a crown of flowers on his head?’ He lifted his chin at Bilbo’s forehead, that smile still playing around his lips.

‘Oh.’ Bilbo glanced upwards. ‘My little cousin, Bluebell is her name, her older sisters taught her how to make flower crowns and she’s been doing little else this summer.’ He adjusted the ring of daisies with a nudge. ‘I forgot I was wearing it.’

‘A likely story.’ Those blue eyes glittered with mirth. ‘Any fairy will deny being a fairy. It’s part of their trickery.’

‘Well, what chance do I have then?’ Bilbo took a few steps closer. ‘There’s no convincing you, it seems.’ 

The dwarf was about to reply when something rustled in the trees behind him and another dwarf, taller and with a bald head, stepped out into the clearing. He gave the blue-eyed dwarf a significant look.

‘Yes, I know,’ he sighed. A look back at Bilbo. ‘Goodbye, fair one. Perhaps we’ll meet again.’

‘Wait—’ Bilbo impulsively raised his hand but the two of them had already turned and pushed their way through the lakeside shrubbery.

Something loosened in Bilbo’s nose as he gazed after them. He sniffled as he searched his pocket for his handkerchief. 

For a moment or two, he had managed to completely forget this vexing cold.

 

X—X

 

Bilbo arrived earlier at the lake the next day. He circled where the two of them had stood talking yesterday, fancying that he could still see the deep indents of heavy boots in the dirt. 

He sat down under the shady tree and waited; his head against the rough bark of the trunk. He still hadn’t made up his mind as to how long he was going to wait and what he was even waiting for. A chance for another glimpse of a handsome dwarf? More light and, frankly, silly flirtation? Anything at all to busy his mind other than his stuffy nose?

The day grew hotter and Bilbo made his way to the edge of the lake. He kneeled down. The water was clear and the lakebed was dark. Bilbo’s reflection stared back at him, his blocked nose making his mouth hang open in a gormless expression. One of the fair folk? Hardly.

Dipping his cupped hand into the cool water, he drank, greedily sucking up the water like a horse at a trough. Then he cupped another handful and splashed it at his hot neck, wetting the collar of his shirt. He sighed as he hung his head down, idly watching the water droplets fall from his body back into the lake.

‘It seems I was mistaken,’ a deep voice spoke, ‘I took you to be a forest fairy at first. But perhaps you are a water fairy instead?’

Bilbo couldn’t help but grin. ‘Be careful I don’t pull you down to live with me in my underwater kingdom.’

‘Oh, you are a king among your kind? That would explain the crown you were wearing yesterday.’

Bilbo sat back on his heels and looked over his shoulder, shielding his eyes to see the dwarf standing in the sunshine.

‘A prince,’ he corrected, ‘a prince is much more romantic.’

The dwarf’s smile faltered a smidgen. He glanced away, a small tightening around his eyes. ‘I suppose so.’

Bilbo wrinkled his brow at this reaction. He quickly got to his feet, his mind searching for anything to say to bring the dwarf back to their light chatter.

‘But,’ he said, not entirely sure how he was going to finish this sentence, ‘but I w-will spare your life if you will offer me a boon in return.’ Was that right? It had been so long since Bilbo had been told stories about fairies.

‘I don’t know.’ The dwarf looked fully into Bilbo’s face. They were standing close, closer than they had been yesterday. ‘Being pulled underwater to live out the rest of my days? Sounds…quiet.’ He sighed. ‘Sounds peaceful.’

Bilbo licked his lips nervously. This was not at all what he had had in mind. ‘You mentioned some travelling companions yesterday…’ He spoke quietly. ‘Wouldn’t they miss you?’

‘At first, yes, I suppose so. But they’d soon get used to it.’ He lightened his tone. ‘So, you have my permission, oh great prince among fairies, to take me with you to---’

‘Where are you travelling to?’ Bilbo interrupted, his eyes never wavering from the other’s face.

His voice dropped again. ‘Nowhere at the moment. That’s the problem. The group is split evenly between looking for more work within the borders of the Shire or heading west to the Blue Mountains.’

‘Are you from the Blue Mountains?’

‘No, but I have kin there. As do most of my companions. We’ve been travelling since early spring and we all miss them fiercely. And there should be work to be had in the mountains.’ He paused. ‘But harvest time is coming soon and there _will_ be plenty of blacksmith’s work to be done here, getting the tools ready.’

‘So, it’s a choice between--’ Bilbo’s nose tickled, ‘between-a-a-A-ACHOO!’ He bent over with the force of it, his hand flying up to cover his nose and mouth. ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ His other hand fished for his handkerchief in his pocket. ‘Please excuse me.’ He wiped at his face, turning his side slightly to the dwarf in order to blow his nose.

‘Nothing to excuse.’ He looked closely at Bilbo. ‘Are you alright?’

‘It’s nothing.’ Bilbo finished wiping his hand. ‘Just a cold.’

‘How did you manage to catch a cold in the midst of summer?’

‘I wish I knew,’ Bilbo replied with a sniffle, ‘so I can manage to avoid whatever it is in the future.’ He looked down at the ground between them. Whatever fun flirtation had been going on between them was absolutely dead now. It had been killed by everyday worries and Bilbo’s snotty handkerchief.

‘I should get back,’ the dwarf said, ‘in truth I told my company that I only needed to step aside to heed the call of nature.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘They must be wondering where I’ve got to.’

‘Yes.’ Bilbo nodded once. ‘I have things to do as well.’

The world outside had broken through to that clearing around the lake, and it wasn’t long before they both had left it behind, the water offering up its glitter to nobody but the summer sky.

 

X—X

 

Two days passed before Bilbo made his way back there. He came with no expectations. The company of dwarves must have moved on by now, and he had resigned himself to think no more of beautiful eyes or deep voices. The air was still coolest by the lake, and Bilbo wasn’t going to give that up just because of the memory of the briefest of summer flings.

He sat in the shade, trying to breathe as much as he could through his nose. Only one nostril was blocked now but he still found it difficult to sleep at night, tossing and turning, his body sweaty and his mouth dry when he got out of bed in the morning.

A bird pecked at a tree somewhere behind him, the sound deep and resonant as it mingled with the sound of the water lapping over the edges of the lake. Bilbo’s eyelids felt heavy and the tension in his shoulders loosened. The ground rose up behind him and his head fell back among the grass, slow and lazy as his eyes shut completely. He needed this.

Bilbo slept.

Sunlight again tickled at the edges of his shut eyes when he heard the voice.

‘Greetings, fair one.’

Bilbo smiled, his eyes still shut. ‘Have you come to offer yourself up?’

‘Not this time, prince of fairies. I and my companions have decided to travel west, far away from your kingdom.’

He couldn’t stop himself then. Bilbo opened his eyes and sat up, focusing on the dwarf in front of him. ‘To the Blue Mountains?’

‘Yes.’ His eyes were soft as he gazed down at Bilbo.

Bilbo bent his head, looking at the ground between his bent knees. 

‘But,’ the boots in front of him went away as the dwarf kneeled in front of him, ‘I have a boon to offer you instead my life.’ He pulled open a drawstring bag hanging from his belt. ‘That was the agreement, wasn’t it?’

Bilbo sniffled. ‘It was.’ He raised his head to look into those eyes. ‘But it’ll have to be something priceless to replace your presence in my kingdom.’

‘I’ll let you judge.’ The dwarf held out a small linen pouch tied with a length of string. When Bilbo took it, he could feel dry bits shifting beneath his touch. 

‘It’s for your nose,’ the dwarf explained with a small smile, ‘and your throat. One of my company is a trained apothecary and he gave me this. Brew this like you would a pot of tea, but while the leaves are steeping you have to lean over the open pot, making sure to breathe in the steam through your nose. Once it stops steaming, you can drink the rest as a tea. It won’t take away your cold but it should soothe some of its symptoms.’

Bilbo looked down at the small bag, fingering the finely knotted string. _He thought of me. Even after leaving the lake, he still remembered._

‘Thank you.’

The dwarf ducked his head, catching Bilbo’s gaze. ‘Will you allow me to leave your kingdom then, oh prince?’

Bilbo smiled back at him. ‘I will. But…’ He paused. ‘But if you ever enter here again, I shall require an even larger offering before letting you leave.’

‘How about this?’ The dwarf leaned forward, his beard tickling Bilbo’s cheek as he whispered, ‘Thorin. My name is Thorin.’

Bilbo gaped at him as he moved back to look into his eyes. ‘Do you know what you just did?’

‘Aye. I gave you power over me, power to summon me whenever or wherever.’ Thorin grinned.

Bilbo blinked as he started to understand. ‘In the spring?’

Thorin nodded. ‘I am yours to command.’

‘Then I, prince of the fairies, when the winter snows melt and the days grow warmer, summon you to Hobbiton, to the home of Bilbo Baggins of Bag End.’

‘Bilbo…’ Thorin turned over the name in his mouth and his mind. ‘I like that.’

They sat there for a moment, Bilbo with his arms resting on his bent knees, Thorin on his knees, and just smiled at each other. Finally, Bilbo was the first to speak.

‘Are you leaving today?’

Thorin sighed. ‘This very moment. My companions are packing up our camp. I should be helping but I wanted one last visit to the lake.’ He gave Bilbo an earnest look. ‘One last chance meeting.’

Bilbo nodded his head sadly. He then took a deep breath and reached out his hand. ‘Farewell, Thorin the dwarf. May Yavanna smile on your journey.’

Thorin’s big hand cradled Bilbo’s. ‘Farewell, Bilbo the fair one. May Mahal keep you safe until our next meeting.’ And he bent his head, pressing a warm kiss to the back of Bilbo’s hand.

There wasn’t much to say after that. They had exchanged names, blessings, and promises. 

What better parting could two strangers want?

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr](https://hildyj.tumblr.com/)


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